Mr. George Loucaides, member of the Cypriot delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on the issue of the evaluation of the institution "Partnership for Democracy" in relation to the Jordanian Parliament, presented yesterday at a meeting of the PACE Standing Committee in Reykjavik, his report and resolution, which were adopted unanimously.
In his intervention, Mr. Loucaides expressed his thanks for the hospitality extended to him during his working visit to Jordan and for the cooperation shown by his interlocutors. The Cypriot MP highlighted as the most important challenges facing Jordan the continuous flow of migrants from neighbouring countries, the difficult economic conditions and the general instability in the region. At the same time, he praised the progress made in many areas, including essential reforms. Mr. Loucaides underlined that Parliament should make every effort to ensure that Jordan meets its political commitments and resolves the remaining issues and reaffirmed the CSTO's commitment to support all efforts to further strengthen democratic institutions.
Mr Loucaides referred in particular to legislation recently adopted by the Jordanian Parliament to facilitate the formation of political parties and encourage the participation of women and young people in political life. Regarding gender equality issues, Mr.Loucaides pointed out that violence against women continues to be a problem, although measures have been taken for their social empowerment, such as similar positive measures have been promoted regarding administrative reservations and children's rights
Loucaides also mentioned that restrictions on freedom of expression and the independence of the media should be lifted. He urged the Jordanian Parliament to intervene to introduce a de jure moratorium on the death penalty until its definitive abolition, noting as a positive development the non-application since 2017 of this practice, which, he pointed out, is not in line with the principles and values of the Council of Europe.
(The text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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